China denies links to cyber attacks directed at US

Washington, May 8 (ANI): China has denied allegations that Beijing was the source of cyber attacks directed at the United States.

U.S. officials have recently warned that cyber espionage, in some cases authorized at the highest levels of the Chinese government, has become a grave threat to American economic and national security.

China's Defense Minister General Liang Guanglie, however, denied the claims during a joint news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

"I can hardly agree with the proposition that cyber attacks are directed at the United States from China," The Los Angeles Times quoted Guanglie, as saying.

Liang further said Panetta "had agreed with my point that we cannot attribute all of the cyber attacks to China."

According to the paper, Panetta said that America was eager to build closer military ties with China, but sidestepped a question about China's efforts to penetrate U.S. computer networks.

He acknowledged that both countries were developing capabilities to carry out both offensive and defensive cyber measures.

"Both the United States and China have developed advanced technology with regards to the cyber arena and it's true, as the general pointed out, that we agreed that obviously there are other countries that are hackers," the paper quoted Panetta, as saying.

"There are others that are involved in some of the attacks that both of our countries receive," he added. (ANI)